Wednesday, February 24, 2010

I got up to the mountain again today and man oh man, was it beautiful! Sunny skies and perfect groomers. My friend Lori joined me for the ride up where we met up with our friends Lucy and Lanae. Look at how gorgeous those mountains are!!!I tried to get a group picture, so I set my ski poles topped with my glove as a platform for my camera. I set the timer, and skated off...I guess I was thinking I would cut off the top of my helmet or something, because I ducked down to get in the picture...Just then, a nice lady skied by and snapped a shot for us. The only thing a picture doesn't capture is just how much stinkin' fun I had today. I loved hanging out with these ladies. I had so much fun and had some good laughs. I think the funniest moment was me crashing on a tiny bump after I had tried to convince everyone that they ought to start calling me 'Super G.' Lunch at Zia topped off a terrific day! It was my idea of a perfect ski day-what a beautiful world we live in!!!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Fact 1: I am a cheapskate. While I enjoy quality stuff, I enjoy it so much more if I felt like I got a good deal on it.

Fact 2: I am a gal that has cold feet. And I have found UGGS to be a warm and cozy solution.

These two facts seem to be somewhat at odds in my simple mind because while UGGS are oh so pleasant, they are fairly pricey. Sure you can get a pair of boots that are similar, but I appreciate the whole "Made in New Zealand" from authentic Aussie Sheepskin. I have actually owned a pair of UGGS for probably 5 years and I wear them fairly often. They are warm and comfortable, but they are pink. Yes, light pink. John got them for me when he came acrossed them 70% off at Nordstrom (he bought them unsure if I would like them, as he too loves a deal). What a sweetheart and while I love him, I don't love the color light pink for my daily footwear.

I honestly cannot count how many times since that day that my generous husband has strongly encouraged me to buy another pair. He even went so far as to actually buy me a pair for Christmas. Sadly, they were too big (I never thought that would be a problem I would face in a pair of boots...). John wasn't really concerned knowing I could simply exchange them for the pair I really wanted. I have to admit I was a little relieved when the store didn't have my size and the store had to refund the full purchase price. Although I was still UGGless, I didn't mind returning them as John had paid full price for them.

I knew I could find some Uggs, someplace, somehow, at a better price. I could have warm feet and feel like I got a deal. So I began to search. I found a pair I liked on Zappos.com (this is such a great site BTW, they have every shoe ever made and the ship overnight! Love it!) but it was only slightly discounted. I honed my search and narrowed it down to this brown pair (thank you Zappos for the pic). The Sundance II baby. The brown color I was looking for, the sturdy soles, and that yummy sheepskin to wrap my feet in warmth and furry joy. Oh ya!!So three weeks ago, I found them. The Sundance II-retail price $225, yes, $225-I found them for $90. That's 60% off!! I was super stoked and I immediately ordered them. Three weeks ago. And I waited. Three weeks.

By week two I started to think I had been scammed. My card was charged moments after I placed my order, and I was not seeing the Sundance II arrive at my doorstep. At the end of three weeks, when I got a little card in my mailbox letting me know I had a package, I was hesitantly hopeful. Could they really finally be here?

Sure enough, three weeks after I had placed my order, there they were!! I was so excited! I went to open the box and I noticed that there was a lot of strange writing on the invoice. It looked Asian. Upon closer examination, I noticed it came from China. China? Why would they ship my Aussie UGGS by way of China? Weird.Pulling them out of the box, they seemed to have all the right stuffing and papers congratulating me on my purchase.They were the right color, but they looked...Off. It must just be my imagination. I examined them closer. They looked pretty good. UGG labels in the right places.But I found a few things that gave me pause. The sheepskin detail on my boots looked different than the picture, the fur itself even had a different look. And they seemed kinda, well, pointy.I dug deeper and read the label:If you look closely, you can see three little words "Made in China"

Made in China?! UGGS are a wonder from Down Under! What in the world?! Why would there be a Made in China label in my authentic Aussie footwear?

I think I have been taken. I think I have purchased a knock-off!

Maybe it is time for me to consider a new fact: You get what you pay for!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

This morning for breakfast, Elise made us these yummy German Pancakes. It is a recipe from my cute friend Tiff (see her button on the right-->). It is such a fun recipe to make because it grows and grows in the hot oven. And it is delicious with powdered sugar and syrup!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Friday morning after dropping the kids off for school and tying up a few loose ends, John and I hopped into the car and headed East.We made slow progress as Mother Nature let loose with the white stuff. We were headed to Pagosa to meet up with some friends of ours. Our plan was to ski at Wolf Creek then soak in the Hot Springs. We had a small snafu on Wed night when my b-balling husband pulled a hamstring while chasing down a 20-year-old-lightning-fast-guy during his rec. league game. His plan changed from 'Pounding the Powder' to 'Reading in the Lodge.' He was pretty bummed, but was a great sport. We made it up to Wolf Creek and the snow was really coming down. We decided that we were feeling like fair weather skiiers and bailed off the mountain. (Sidenote: I feel kinda sorry for Dave and Lori. I fear the mountain lost some of it's appeal when they assessed their options...with a crippled guy (John) and a lousy skiier (Me), the powder isn't as appealing.)

But don't feel sad for us because the day only got better from there. We headed into Pagosa and had lunch at Tequilla's (YUM!) It sits just across the San Juan River from the famous Pagosa Hot Springs. If you look close, you can see them in the background. They are a bunch of hot-pots heated by the natural hot spring located there. This was our destination for the rest of the day.We checked into the hotel where they give you these nifty bathrobes to wear. You wear them over your swimsuits and flip-flops, then you walk through the falling snow from pot to pot.The pots are all different temperatures from around 99-111 degrees. They overlook the beautiful river and it is awesome but weird to be sitting out in the falling snow while feeling wet and toasty warm. The springs have a distinct aroma, but I like to think that the sulfur smell just adds to the charm. ;)

As we sat in a delightful 101 degrees, we noticed an old guy wandering down to the river. He not only dipped his toe in the almost freezing cold river, but submerged himself up to his neck!! Then he sat, and sat, and sat there. I couldn't even watch it seemed so painful, but it was only a minute before John and Dave decided to give it a try. They had one brief dip before really settling in. Lori and I decided getting our legs in the river was enough and we left the men to their misery.We stayed the night at the Springs and soaked again in the morning until we had to check out. It was DELIGHTFUL! Dave and Lori were super great to hang out with and we were so glad they let us tag along on their pilgrimage to the Springs. John and I had such a good time. Sometimes you forget how much you love hanging out with your hubby and this was the perfect reminder for us. We laughed and ate and talked and soaked and ate. It was just what we needed.

I think I will remember this trip for a while. Not only was it really fun, but I think I am still oozing sulfur from my pores! :)

Monday, February 15, 2010

It's now the end of long holiday weekend and we are still in town. I guess we had some pretty great reasons to stay. One big reason was for this guy:This was Seth's first opportunity to pass the Sacrament at church as a Deacon. He would have passed for the first time last week, but we got snowed out. It was so wonderful to see him pass. It was a happy-mom moment having two sons participate in this special Sunday Ordinance.

There was another event that got snowed out last week and it was the baptism of cute little friend Karver. She sure looked pretty in her white dress and it was great to attend her baptism after church.

Today was President's Day and DMR (the ski resort) was having a locals day-$25 lift tickets. We sent Gabe and Seth up with some friends (thanks Francoms!) and John and I took the other 3 kids to exotic, lovely Farmington, NM. We mostly just went to dink around and hang out together. After a yummy lunch at Costa Vida, we hit the mall. Dillard's was having a sale and we found a little somethin' for everyone.

I have to post these pictures of Jebb. He actually saw an outfit he wanted really, really badly. It was a shirt/sweater vest/pant combo and it was, well, not super cute. But the guy LOVES sweater vests and he begged to just try it on. Because the set was only $12, I relented and he put the shirts/vest on in the dressing room. He asked if he could PLEASE buy it. I of course cannot resist him and I agreed. He then asked if he could wear it for the rest of our day in Farmington. Shoot, why not?! He was sooo excited! The shirt and pants are actually pretty cool, but the vest...I'm not as big of a fan as Jebb.

I posted this first pic because he cannot keep his eyes open when I use the flash. It is so weird to me...how can his eyelids be faster than the speed of light? Strange, but we did several and got this same result.I then told him to try opening his eyes really big and this is the result. Normal eyes with big eyebrow lift. Anyhoo. Of course I still think he is ridiculously adorable. ;)It was a really fun day and after spending the kid's college education at Sam's Club, we got ice cream cones for the drive home. Perfect!

Tonight the Young Adults in our ward capped off the weekend by bringing by some cookies for Grandma Kristine. I thought that was just so sweet! Although it wasn't some great get-away weekend, it was still a great weekend. I am so grateful for my family and for my good husband. I am glad he is my Valentine!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

This is President's Day weekend and we have no school next Monday. I was SO excited as we had planned to go to St George, UT for a little 4wheeling fun in the sun. I could imagine myself cruising in the 60-70 degree temperatures over the red rocks. I thought I would wear a hoodie and some big sunglasses. I even thought I would bring some flip-flops for hanging out at the hotel. It was going to be great!

But it wasn't meant to be. Our weekend was just too full of good stuff, so we decided to stay in town.

Friday night was a ward party for the grown ups. There were games, dancing, good food, and friends. It was a fun night. I was asked to take pics of everyone that came. I got lots of great shots, but I will just put up the one of John and I (I will put the other pics in my Blurb book, but I always wonder how people would feel about me posting pics of them...?).On Saturday morning, the primary had a pajama party/breakfast. I was in charge of games. We popped balloons. Kids love to pop balloons. I didn't get pics.After that, we went to Seth's b-ball game. The little guys are troopers, they get dragged to lots of sporting events. Since it was our staycation, I let them bring their DS's. They get SO into them. Seth's rec team did pretty well. They beat a tough Bayfield team-it was close. This is Seth making a basket-that's his blurry arm shooting the ball. I am NOT a sports photographer as I am very lazy-you don't get great shots from the stands. But I do try to make up for it by cheering a lot. :)The little guys didn't last the whole game. They both fell asleep before it was all over.

It was a good power nap that recharged them enough to go see the new 'Lightning Theif' movie. I totally enjoyed it. Keeping with the staycation theme, we then hit Denny's for our dining pleasure. I have to admit that although there were no red rocks, it was such a great day and a fun dinner. We talked and laughed and left without doing any dishes. Our kids are growing so fast and I guess it's all good as long as we get to hang together!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Sunday, February 7, 2010

I live in a house full of boys. When there is a quiet moment (this is rare) it seems that those boys find some way to do a contest or measurement of physical skill. Or they wrestle. Tonight they amused themselves with seeing how high they could jump. We have an area in our room the has 10' ceilings and they were trying to jump up and reach it (a basketball rim is also 10' BTW). Oh, and by 'boys,' I mean Gabe, Seth and John. ;) I sat and watched their shenanegans for a while, then got a small crayon out of my drawer and walked over to where they were. I stood flat footed on the ground, reached up my arm, and wrote a small line on the wall with said crayon. Gabe and Seth looked at me wide-eyed. No one spoke. I looked into their eyes for a moment and tried to hide a grin. I then looked straight ahead and jumped. As I did, i reached as far as I could with my crayon, and I put up a 'high mark' with my crayon. Seth's mouth literally dropped open and Gabe blurted out something like, "Mom, you just wrote on the wall with a crayon!" As if he were informing me of something I did not know.

I just laughed and handed John the crayon. "What's your vertical?" I casually asked. John didn't miss a beat and immediately marked his flat footed height. Of course by now I had out my camera:Both boys were very anxious to show us how high they could jump and we proceeded to mark up the wall pretty well.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Up until just recently, my boys haven't given much thought to their hair. When it got long enough to be annoying, they sought out a buzz from their dad. While styling was a tiny part of their preference, function was the main driver behind the cut.

But I now have a teen. Who is concerned about his hair. It's a new thing that I tried to embrace.

Gabe decided to grow his hair out this year and if you look at my header, you can get an idea of how it looked around the Holidays. It was a pretty good length back then. I guess I should just say up front that I do NOT love long hair on boys. It's just a personal preference thing. Anyhoo. Fast forward a few months, and Gabe's hair was getting a little raggedy. When he played basketball it was especially disheveled. I found a pic from the end of January: Last week I convinced him to let me cut his hair. John is our usual barber in the family, but I have done a few male cuts in my day (I used to cut hair in college now and then...sometimes good, sometimes bad...). Much to my surprise, Gabe readily agreed.

So I cut.

I thought I did a pretty good job, but Gabe and John both thought it was not the best. More acurately, they thought it was bad--in a bad way. As hard as I tried, I couldn't convince Gabe it looked good. Our conversations went like this.

Me, "Gabe, it looks really good!"Gabe, "Uh, no. It doesn't."Me, "Yes it does! You are so handsome!"Gabe, "Mom. Sorry. It looks bad."

Well, I certainly did not agree. Here's a picture of the haircut I gave him. (OK, John may have touched it up a little before church, but not much.) The look on his face tells the story:John kindly and wisely intervened and booked Gabe a professional haircut at a swanky place downtown. Smart husband. They made the appointment into a little father/son outing. Gabe got home and was really excited. Although he had gone short, he was still pleased at the stylish wave up front, sort of faux-hawk-esque. John even bought him a fancy styling product. Here is the result:Man I love those blue eyes!! So he woke up this morning and styled his new do and headed to school. When he got home this afternoon I asked him if anyone noticed his new hairstlye.

"Yep. Everyone hated it.""WHAT?! Surely they didn't HATE it.""Ya they did. Everyone said I looked way better with long hair."

The funny thing was, as he told me about it, he was chuckling. HE liked his hair and he truly didn't seem to mind the opinion of the general Middle School public. He did finally admit that several people liked it too. And now I will finally admit that it wasn't the best haircut that I gave him. I am really glad he wasn't mad at me! Although hair always grows out, I think it would be wise for me to leave it to the pros in the future!

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About Me

I'm a SAH Mom with 5 ridiculously gorgeous kids. I am married to a true Renaissance man. I like to travel and see new things, but I always love coming home to my own bed. I am an active member of the Mormon church and am trying to Choose the Right (usually!).